Tobias Sylvester
Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto has defeated a former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga to win the country’s 2022 presidential election.
William Ruto and Raila Odinga
Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced the results of the election on Monday, August 15, after the keenly contested race.
Ruto emerged victorious after polling 50.49 percent of the votes to defeat Odinga, his closest rival, who polled 48.85 percent of the votes during the general election held on August 9.
Four candidates in the race to succeed Uhuru Kenyatta. The other candidates are George Wajackoyah of Roots Party and David Mwaure of Agano Party.
The election results have, however, been rejected by Odinga while four of the seven members of the electoral commission also refused to endorse the result, saying it was “opaque”.
“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election.
“We are going to give a comprehensive statement… and again we urge Kenyans to keep calm,” the BBC quotes Juliana Cherera, the vice-chairperson of the IEBC, as saying.
Ruto, in his acceptance speech, said: “It was God that brought us here … my team and I will make sure that the sacrifices made by many Kenyans is not in vain … we will not let them down.
“I am confident that this country will come together and we can move forward as one democratic nation. I will run a transparent, open, democratic government and I will work with the opposition to the extent that they provide oversight over my administration”.
This was the first time Ruto, 55, had run for president. He has served as deputy president for 10 years, but fell out with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who backed Odinga to succeed him.
Meanwhile, the 77-year-old former prime minister, who got 48.8% of the vote, was running for president for the fifth time.
